The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 183 (Part 1)
Chapter 183: Justification (Part 1)
John Delgado was a man with many grievances against the world.
In his late twenties, he was physically healthy, yet he had neither a job nor a spouse, nor had he accomplished anything of significance.
“This is all the world’s fault. The world deserves to perish.”
That phrase, which he repeated out of habit, came true in 2022 as if by a lie.
The Angels’ Survival Game.
Within it, John obtained the formidable class of Necromancer.
“I can command the souls of corpses?”
A class that collected souls and reanimated them as spiritual undead.
The spiritual undead were only vulnerable to magical damage, making them hard to kill.
In short, it was an ultimate cheat.
To begin with, it was rare to encounter monsters that used magic.
“And I can command not just monsters, but players too.”
Even though an undead’s power was only half of its original strength, it was still significant.
“I can command dozens of them.”
The number of undead a necromancer could command was equal to their level.
In other words, a level 40 necromancer could summon 40 undead, and a level 99 necromancer could summon 99.
“This is insane. It’s like a mob boss necromancer!”
Though he wasn’t confident in physical combat, John excelled at leading from the rear and quickly claimed the top rank in his district.
stThough he never made it to the overall ranking across all districts.
“Dammit, I’m the top in my district, so why can’t I make it to the overall ranking even once?”
John always hovered at fourth place in the overall ranking.
He couldn’t comprehend it.
Despite becoming a powerful player who could decimate battlefields with dozens of summoned creatures, there were three people stronger than him?
The most incomprehensible was the entity known as “Black Scythe,” who consistently held the number one spot in the overall ranking.
“What the hell is this guy doing to have such a high level? And what’s with that class called ‘Reaper’?”
His own class was rare, but he’d never seen a nickname that fit a class so well.
“I need to become stronger. I need stronger minions.”
Instead of filling numbers with monsters, he needed to form his army entirely with players.
Ideally, he would like to use only boss monsters, but since bosses couldn’t be turned into minions, there was no choice.
“I should create a religion. A religion of despair to gather players.”
That way, he could turn them into minions in emergencies and find valuable talents.
Thus, John founded the Church of Despair and sought out followers.
He managed to gather a few from his district, but it wasn’t enough.
“I need to find them not only in the otherworld, but in real world too.”
He preached the idea of overthrowing the old world and creating a new one, saying that players would become the new elite in this world.
As a result, he was often treated as a cultist or scammer and faced rejection.
Sometimes, he had to commit murder when conflicts arose.
Yet John didn’t give up.
Whenever he heard of a promising player, he traveled across districts to recruit them.
Then he heard about the existence of a Saintess from another district.
“In our district, we have a priest named Chrissy. She’s called the Saintess and has over 50 followers.”
A Saintess.
John found it absurd.
“You’re saying she’s building up her power using religion like me?”
He later found out it wasn’t actually a religion, but it didn’t matter.
The fact remained that a competitor had appeared.
“I need to disassemble that faction. Plus, I want that priest as a minion.”
John granted the man who provided this information a high rank within the Church of Despair, similar to a cardinal.
He then gave him a mission.
“Go undercover as one of the Saintess’s followers and act as a spy.”
“I will obey, my lord.”
Berber was an excellent spy.
He gathered information about the Saintess, Chrissy, in each round without getting caught.
Sometimes he brought back valuable intel.
“There is a paladin named Douglas among her followers. He admires the Saintess but seems to be growing discontent. If we can manipulate him well, we might turn him to our side.”
“A traitor would be useful. Persuade him to join us.”
Thus, they brought Douglas to their side and waited for the right chance to kill Chrissy.
Although they couldn’t meet due to being in different districts, the opportunity would come.
Since they were both Americans, they would eventually meet when the districts merged.
After gathering 200 followers and waiting for the right moment, the 11th round arrived.
And the districts were merged.
The seven separate districts in America were combined into one.
“Finally, the time has come.”
John decided to kill the Saintess and dismantle her faction.
There was no need to spare her followers either.
“Each one of them is valuable, so I need to kill them all.”
Although they were all Americans, they were from different districts.
Given that district battles were group-based, they were merely competitors to be trampled over.
So, there was no reason not to kill them.
“The Saintess must be killed and turned into my minion.”
Thus, the plan was set in motion. Though they had turned Douglas into a traitor, it ended up backfiring…
“That damned paladin betrayed us and ran off with the Saintess.”
Fortunately, they managed to track and kill him before it was too late, but another obstacle appeared.
“Who is that guy?”
A man with a large scythe slung over his shoulder.
“A scythe?”
The nickname that came to mind was unavoidable.
“Could it be… him? No way.”
What were the chances of encountering the overall ranking number one at such a critical moment?
The possibility that it wasn’t Black Scythe was higher.
Scythes could be commonly purchased in stores, and it wasn’t exclusive to Reapers.
“Even so, he’s not ordinary. He killed my undead in one blow.”
Whether it was due to knowing their vulnerability to magic, it was clear he wasn’t someone to take lightly.
“Who are you?”
“Just a passerby.”
He looked Asian but spoke English.
If one closed their eyes, his pronunciation was good enough to pass for an American.
“Was Black Scythe Asian?”
John didn’t know for sure, but he couldn’t allow the man to interfere.
“If you’re just passing by, don’t meddle in others’ affairs and continue on your way.”
John gave the man he suspected to be Black Scythe a chance.
He didn’t want an unnecessary fight with a third party.
‘Honestly, he looks strong. I don’t want to fight him if I can avoid it.’
However, the man seemed to have no intention of just passing by.
“That woman looks like she’s in danger. Am I wrong?”
“I told you not to interfere.”
“How can I stand by when someone is in trouble?”
“I won’t hold you accountable for killing my minions. Just go. This is your last warning.”
John glared at the man, ready to summon more minions to kill him if necessary.
‘He’s not an ordinary person. I can’t let my guard down.’
If a fight broke out, he would use all his power to kill him.
That was his resolve as he waited for the man’s response.
The answer was predictable.
‘He won’t just pass by. He’ll act like a hero and try to save her.’
The man’s sudden interference already hinted at his intentions.
He probably already planned to save her in his mind.
But then, an unexpected situation occurred.
“Alright. It seems I was unnecessarily meddling. I’ll be on my way.”
The man, who was presumed to be Black Scythe, surprisingly said he would leave.
Even Christine, who had been watching, was taken aback by his unexpected statement.
“Weren’t you going to save me?”